Mary’s Store

This is the Green Center store in Green Twp, Noble County, Indiana. My grandparents John Arthur and Berniece Smith Friskney owned the store in 1920-1925 and traded this store for a farm in Camden MI owned by Charles Younis. Charles Younis came from Syria and first lived in Williams County OH with other Syrians who immigrated at the same time. My aunt Mary Friskney Criswell was born here on 15 Jul 1924, but my mom was born on the farm in MI on 20 Oct 1927. Charles Younis went back to Syria to get his bride Mary Namoura, They were both born in Bloudan, Syria, as were the other Syrians in Williams Co OH. Charles was born around 1888 and Mary was born in 1913, so she outlived him by many years. They raised their children in this store, with two bedrooms upstairs and one downstairs. I interviewed Mary for a class at IU around 1980 and she gave me an article from the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette that they did about her. When I interviewed her, the store was still open, with a heat stove in the middle of the room. Many farmers came and sat around that old stove and drank their coffee in the morning. Next year 2025 will be 100 years that the store has been in the Younis family. I tried to buy it at one time, and a family member told me that it would always be in the Younis family. Even though no one lives there, they have kept it in good condition. Written 10 May 2024 by Alanna Coffelt

Great story Alanna